Scale-poise



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE L. PRESCOTT, OF BERLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

SCALE-POISE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,881, dated March 3, 1896.

Application filed August 30, 1895. Serial No. 561,001. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. PRESCOTT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Berlin, in the county of Coos, State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Scale-Poises, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to improvements in scale-poises, my object being primarily to providesuch a construction that the poise will indicate an aggregate weight of material, while it will also designate the separate weights of the individual parts composing the entire mass.

To this end the invention consists in the various matters hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a face view of my improved poise applied to a scale-beam. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation thereof, and Fig. 3 shows a modification.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, A represents a scale-beam graduated as usual and provided upon one of its edges (preferably the upper edge) with a rack a. Fitting upon the scale-beam is the poise B, provided with a movable member D, so connected with the rack a that movement of the poise along the scale-beam will cause a corresponding movement of the said member D, whereby the weight of the body upon the scale platform will be indicated.

The poise as here shown comprises a casing formed of two members Z) Z), the former of which is slotted, as at a, to provide for the reception of the scale-beam, the walls of said slot snugly fitting said beam, but leaving ample room for the latters free passage. A chamber a for the reception of a gear 0, to be hereinafter referred to, is also formed in the member 1), the lower portion of said chamber opening into the before-mentioned slot. The member I) of the poise is simply a back plate, by which the slot to and the chamber a are closed, thus holding the poise in proper position upon the scale-beam. Seated in the back plate Z), as at 11 is a shaft 0, which extends through an opening 19 in the plate I), and carries thereon the gear 0, which meshes with the rack a. The forward portion of the shaft is reduced, as shown, to present shoulders c, the end 0 of the said reduced portion being threaded or otherwise adapted to receive adjustable members, as the nuts e. A movable indicating member, as the dial D, fits somewhat looselyover the reduced portion of the shaft and abuts against the shoulders 0, being held snugly against said shoulders by a spring E, or other suitable member between the nuts e and the dial. Thus by reason of this frictional contact any movement of the gear 0 is communicated to the dial or other indicating member D. A thumb-piece D, preferably having a cylindrical opening therethrou gh for receiving and protecting the spring E, is suitably attached to the dial D, by means of which the dial can be manually operated independently of the gear. lVhen the dial D is employed, it is graduated, and the poise is provided with an indicator (1.

The present dial is particularly adapted for use in creameries and similar establishments in which a definite weight of milk or other matter is desired in each receptacle, the whole amount contained in each can or other receptacle being composed of several individual quantities whose weights it is de sired to ascertain. To illustrate, two hundred pounds of milk is desired in each can at a creamery. The can is placed upon the scales, the poise moved along until the weight of the can is indicated, and then, as the dial is held against the shoulders 0 only by friction, said dial is moved back to indicate zero. The first lot of milk is poured into the can, the poise moved to balance, and the dial will show the weight of the milk. Again the dial is turned back to zero, a second quantity of milk poured into the can, and its weight noted. Thus while the poise indicates on the scalebeam the aggregate weight the dial shows the weight of the individual quantities.

Of course many slight modifications in the structure can be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. Preferably the spring E is coiled, as this permits it to be readily held upon the shaft. The nuts c are milled to permit their adjustment, in order to provide for regulation of the force with which the spring bears upon the indicating member D.

The most convenient form of indicating member is a dial, but, when desired, a properly-weighted hand, as shown in Fig. 3, may be substituted therefor.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination with a scale-beam of a poise composed of a tw0-part casing, one part being slotted to receive the scale-beam and having a chamber a ,a shaft seated in the back plate of the casing and extending through an opening in the front plate and provided with 

